Striking doctors in Bengal reject Mamata's call for talks

Striking junior doctors in West Bengal on Saturday again turned down Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's proposal for talks at the state secretariat Nabanna, and stuck to their demand that she would have to come down to the NRS Medical College and Hospital to listen to them.

The doctors claimed they are eager to resume the medical services, but accused Banerjee of not taking an honest initiative to solve the ongoing impasse.

"We want her to come to NRS and listen to us and take necessary steps to solve the problem. We are on our toes to serve the ailing people and are eagerly waiting to resume our duty, but from the CM's side, there are no such honest initiatives," an agitating doctor said.

"The comment made by the CM in her press conference implied that we are not willing to solve the problem, but that is not the case. We are announcing that our movemrnt will continue till our demands are met," he said.

The agitators at NRS also refuted Banerjee's claim that eight to 10 junior doctors had gone to meet her at Nabanna on Saturday evening.

"What the CM has said in her press conference is not at all true. No junior doctor went to meet her," He added.

Earlier, Banerjee's held a press conference at Nabanna urging the entire medical fraternity, especially junior doctors, to end the strike, saying the state government is ready to listen to all the legitimate demands.

She also said that the government would not initiate any coercive steps against the striking doctors, including invoking ESMA (Essential Services Maintenance Act).

Protesting against the brutal attack on two junior doctors by the family members of a dead patient in the NRS Medical College and Hospital on Monday night, doctors across the state have stopped work at the outpatient departments (OPDs) in most government hospitals in the state since Wednesday.

Chief Minister Banerjee on Thursday afternoon visited Kolkata's SSKM Hospital where she gave the agitating doctors a four-hour ultimatum to withdraw their strike and warned of "strong action" if the situation was not normalised within the deadline which was rejected by the agitators.

However, she later issued an open letter to all the doctors appealing to them to immediately resume services for the sake of the ailing patients.

--IANS

mgr-bdc/prs